The Three Warlords
The Three Warlords is an informal name given by Kiran Joshmaul to three of the most hated criminals in Federation and Reydovan history. In a "vision" he received in 2371, Joshmaul foresaw the rise of three great enemies within the next five years, all connected by either blood, association, or both. By 2376 Joshmaul, aided by Federation and Imperial authorities, has been able to determine the names of the three warlords. Their names were not identified in his original "vision", merely what people called them: The Defiler, the Deceiver, and the Betrayer. The First Warlord: The Defiler In December 2374, Joshmaul was able to deduce that General Artimus Devaneaux, the Defiler of Worlds, was the first warlord. He was a homicidal (and later genocidal) psychopath with loyalties only to himself and to inflicting terror and destruction on all sentients. His Separatist affiliation became clear when he assassinated the Minister of State, Lucius Tyrael, in December 2374; a manhunt that last two months eventually brought the crazed general to justice. Artimus was thought to have been executed and buried in a shallow grave in March 2375, but returned from beyond the grave to lead the Separatists against the Reydovan Empire, nearly bringing it to its knees. In addition, during his alliance with former Starfleet Admiral Leyton, Artimus also committed horrible atrocities against the Federation, including the destruction of two colonies on the Federation side of the Korolev Expanse. Billions died in Artimus' reign of terror, Federation and Imperial citizens alike. Artimus Devaneaux was defeated at the Battle of Castle Devaneaux, the final battle of the Ides of March campaign, on March 16, 2376. Kiran Joshmaul, Imperial Chancellor Joshua Underwood and Joshmaul's successor as Emperor, Kieran Devaneaux, broke into Artimus' towering fortress in Reydovan Prime's Deadwood Valley, and confronted him in both psionic and hand-to-hand combat. Kieran himself struck the final blow that killed his psychotic father. His psionic shade remained in the body of his clone, Demon-Kieran, until the Emperor killed the Demon in single combat, banishing Artimus' shade into darkness. The Second Warlord: The Deceiver In March 2376, after Artimus' death, word of a man who called himself Demon began to spread. Through thorough investigations, Chancellor Joshua Underwood was able to determine that the second warlord was Demon-Kieran Devaneaux, the clone son of Artimus. He became known as the Deceiver following his interaction with the Gorak'nar Commonwealth, in which he made himself to be the Kayaduram (White Prophet) of Gorak'nar legend and, with the aid of the treacherous High Inquisitor Jaeden'laek XVI, very nearly claimed the long-vacant throne of the last Emperor, Po'gaenus I. However, the Battlelord of the Brelal'kais (Honored Ones, or Warriors), who became High Inquisitor Velenkayn VI, recognized Demon-Kieran's evil and toppled Jaeden'laek and his Brelal'hai (Wise Ones, or Elders) before they could place him on the Throne of Po'gaenus. As a result, the Gorak'nar Commonwealth declared war on Demon-Kieran's Empire of Defileron, and High Inquisitor Velenkayn sent messages to the Reydovan Empire - specifically, Emperor Kieran - to ask for support in their struggle, as well as offer their own aid against the Demon's forces. Demon-Kieran hid on Defileron, the base established by his father as a fallback position in case he was forced to flee the Empire. He ruled an empire of pirates, mercenaries, and other scum of the spacelanes from this volcanic hell-pit, and made preparations to continue his "father's" campaign of inflicting terror and destruction against the Federation and the Reydovan Empire. He was in possession of the Omega weapon known as the Hand of Joshmaul, developed by Kiran Joshmaul in 2296 as a weapon of last resort against the Federation. In June 2376, he led a campaign against Earth itself that lasted two months, and led to the defeat of his forces. Retreating to Defileron, he was tracked down and - three months later - defeated at the Battle of Defileron. Demon-Kieran met in single combat with his "brother", Emperor Kieran, in the Demon's throne room. The two traded heavy blows, but in the end the Emperor lashed out with an incredibly fast kick to the head and snapped the Demon's neck, killing the warlord instantly. The Third Warlord: The Betrayer In May 2376, Joshmaul - along with aid from the Starfleet Marine Corps - determined that the treacherous Solicitor General, Captain Dawson Crenshaw, was the third warlord, the Betrayer. Crenshaw was a xenophobic, conceited egocentrist, and thought nothing of killing a man for not believing in the "sacred destiny of the human race to enslave all aliens and treat them as the dogs they are", as he has been heard to describe it. Crenshaw's fall was all the more serious due to the fact that he was a twenty-five year veteran of Starfleet and a decorated veteran of the Dominion War. As the government's primary lawyer, Crenshaw was prosecuting the case of Dr. Rachel Vantine, former Federation ambassador to the Adiam Pack, who was accused of treason and espionage. Crenshaw's defense made his feelings about aliens in general and the Adiam in particular very clear to the tribunal judges, and most importantly to the man who would be responsible for derailing his case: SFMC Commanding General Jeremiah Neill. Crenshaw was incarcerated onboard Neill's flagship, the U.S.S. Shenandoah, charged with treason, attempted murder, and falsification of evidence against a Federation official (Ambassador Vantine). However, in late May 2376, he escaped and joined Demon-Kieran on Defileron. A month later, he was one of the commanders during the invasion of Earth, but was defeated in a brutal battle for Starfleet Headquarters against his nemesis, Jonathan Ross. He remained on Defileron until four months after that battle, when the Separatists were finally defeated at the Battle of Defileron. Crenshaw was arrested, tried, and sentenced to death for crimes against sentients. He was executed in the courtyard of the Imperial Palace on January 1, 2377. Category:The Three Warlords